After being pleasantly surprised by the thoughtfulness and high quality of the lubes and body care products in the Fifty Shades of Grey line, I looked forward to reviewing the toys. In a nutshell, a lot of thought went into the discreet packaging, the thorough instructions, and making the toys useful to beginner users.

I often wonder why people try to use a flogger on people’s butts. It is very hard to do, especially if the person is standing. That’s BDSM the hard way! I say: flog backs; paddle bottoms; use slappers, crops and other implements everywhere else. Everyone concerned will be saying, “How can we lose with the system we use!”

The acronym BDSM is really three acronyms combined into one, which reflects how closely related the three often are. Learn what the letters mean, how each type of play works, and the interesting ways they can overlap.

Opinion piece: Submissives and masochists in BDSM are just as worthy to be treated with respect as are dominants and sadists. There are no de-facto Dominants. Yet, in the scene, dominants often expect all submissives to act as if they had actually already accepted them as their dominants. Submissives and dominants, let’s stop this nonsense now.

Although everyone into the BDSM scene has heard of endorphins, actually very, very few people really understand what they are, how they work, what the “high” is all about and how one can correctly induce the body to produce them. This short primer will answer those questions, and serve as a guide for anyone topping another so that they may successfully send their bottom into a very deep endorphin stupor (also known as leaving them in a big puddle of quivering ecstasy)!

If you’re new to the BDSM scene – or just new to the idea of using a flogger as a way to give someone pleasure – the options available for something as seemingly simple as a flogger can be overwhelming. Compared to crops, paddles, slappers, and canes, the flogger has the most options of any non-electric tool in the sexy toolbox.

Many people observe the sadomasochistic side of BDSM with little or no understanding of exactly how it works. Why would someone want to experience pain? Why would someone else feel pleasure by inflicting pain on another person? If I derive pleasure from physically hurting someone else, does that make me a bad person? Very good questions, and there are equally good answers to this often-misunderstood aspect of the BDSM lifestyle.